


Sailor Portia's Daily Drabbles

by SailorPortia



Category: Little Witch Academia, 響け! ユーフォニアム | Hibike! Euphonium (Anime)
Genre: Amanda calls Hannah "Hannah Banana", Angst, Comedy, Croix has a pet roomba, Diana is Thirsty, Drabble Collection, F/F, Fluff, Gossip, Hannah and Barbara are my bitchy bisexual daughters, His name is Rutherford, Hugs, Humor, Love Confessions, Oblivious Kumiko, Talking Shit, Useless Lesbians
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-01
Updated: 2019-01-14
Packaged: 2019-10-02 16:25:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 11,402
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17267450
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SailorPortia/pseuds/SailorPortia
Summary: Daily Drabbles based on prompts from @writingprompts365 on tumblrOne of my New Years Resolutions is to write every day, so let's see how long I can keep it up lolIt didn't take long for my mental health to put a stop to this lol. It be like that sometimesToday's Drabble: Little Witch Academia, Akko vs Finnelan!Also available at my tumblr, @sailorportia





	1. January 1st, “A character wakes up earlier than usual and is unable to go back to sleep”

Akko groaned and turned over in her bed again, twisting herself up in her sheets even further. Try as she might, she couldn’t go back to sleep.

For the first night in a very long time, Akko had fallen asleep early. Very early. She woke up fully rested before the sun had risen. Her attempts to doze off again failed, forcing her to lie in bed until everyone else woke up.

“This is so boring,” Akko mumbled into her pillow. Unless, there might be one person who would be awake this early…

 

Diana had, in fact, _not_ been awake when Akko knocked at her door. Her hair was slightly dishevelled and she wore a dressing gown.

“What brings you to my dormitory at this unholy hour?” she asked. Her bleary-eyed expression made it perfectly clear how unwelcome the surprise was.

Akko shrank slightly under Diana’s gaze. “I woke up an hour ago and I couldn’t get back to sleep. It got boring with no one to talk to so I went to see you.”

"And I was the first person you thought of?“

"Yeah, I guess so. Does it matter?”

“I suppose not.” Diana smiled. “You can come in as long as you promise to be quiet. Hannah and Barbara are still sleeping.”

“You can count on me!” Akko said enthusiastically. “Uh, I mean…” She nodded silently to try to make up for the noise.

Diana rolled her eyes and held the door open for Akko. They quietly passed by Diana’s sleeping roommates and went around the divider to her side of the dorm. Akko sat down on Diana’s bed.

“I see you’re making yourself comfortable,” Diana noted.

“Nah, if I was making myself comfortable I would’ve tucked myself in.”

Diana blushed at the idea. “I see.” She sat down next to Akko.

“Y'know, I thought you might be awake already,” Akko said.

“It’s five o'clock in the morning,” Diana replied. “If not sleeping, what else would I be doing?”

“I don’t know? I kinda used to assume you never slept. Like, maybe you studied all night.”

Diana laughed despite herself. “What exactly do you think I am, a robot?”

“You’re clearly too perfect to be human. Seriously, how are you that smart?”

They spent the next few hours chatting in whispered tones. Despite Diana’s initial annoyance at being woken up, she seemed to be enjoying herself, having to stifle frequent chuckles to make sure she didn’t wake up her roommates. Akko suspected that Diana was still pretty tired, given that she was leaning against her, resting her head against Akko’s shoulder…

“This was pretty fun,” Akko said. “We should hang out this early more often. Wait, why’s your face all red again? Are you okay?”

There was a noise on the other side of the room, the sound of two people stirring.

“What’s going on?” Hannah asked. She and Barbara walked around the divider to see Akko sitting on Diana’s bed.

“What’s Akko doing in our room this early?” Barbara asked.

“Wait, did you sneak her in here after we fell asleep?” Hannah smirked. “Oh it’s like that, is it?”

“N-n-no, girls!” Diana said. “It isn’t like that!”

“Isn’t like what?” Akko asked. “What’s going on?”

“If you wanted time to fool around with Akko, you could’ve asked us to give you some space,” Barbara said. “Let’s leave the two of them alone, Han.” The pair giggled and went back to their side of the room.

“What are they talking about, Diana?” Akko asked. “Why is your face so red? Diana? Diaaanaaa!?”


	2. January 2nd, "A character suddenly becomes very quiet"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hannah, Barbara, and the Grey Team end up gossiping about Amanda, and the others question why Hannah suddenly went silent...

"Did you hear? Amanda got in trouble again," Barbara said.

"Oh?" Hannah perked up. "What did she do now?"

Hannah, Barbara, and their friends were sitting in the cafeteria having lunch. The dynamic duo ate lunch with the Grey Team to catch up on the latest gossip around Luna Nova. Hannah had been absentmindedly nodding along to rumours about who liked who until this more _intriguing_ topic arose.

"I heard she broke into the kitchens and stole desserts," Avery said. "Again."

"I heard she rigged a bucket of troll slime to fall on Finnelan when she went into her office," Mary said.

"Well, I heard that she turned in a history of magic test with 'this class sucks' written in the margins," Blair added.

"I heard that she did all of the above," Barbara chimed in. The Grey Team girls "oohed" in awe.

"Come on," Hannah said. "She wouldn't have done all that. Really! She's getting better, you know."

"'Better' for Amanda can still be pretty bad," Avery said. Mary and Blair nodded in agreement.

"I mean it! Her friends are having a good influence on her!"

"One friend in particular, perhaps?" Barbara whispered quietly enough that only Hannah could hear. Her ears turned pink in response.

"Seriously," Mary said. "How hasn't she been expelled yet?" The girls looked over to the Green Team's table and stared at Amanda, watching her as if she would do something else outrageous if they stared at her long enough.

Amanda noticed the group leering at her. She ran a hand through her hair and winked at them. Hannah couldn't help but feel like the wink was directed toward her...

"She thinks she's so hot," Avery said snidely. "She's totally not though," she added unnecessarily.

"Some people think she's pretty hot," Barbara said idly.

"What? Who?" Blair leaned across the table in her excitement. "Name names, Barbara!"

"I'm afraid that's classified," Barbara replied. "Gossip is one thing, but disclosing that would be kind of mean."

"I get you," Avery said. "If I had a thing for Amanda, I'd be mortified if anybody found out."

"I mean, she doesn't look that bad," Blair said, "but she needs a serious attitude adjustment. Total delinquent."

"You got pretty quiet, Hannah," Mary noted.

"Yeah, Hannah," Blair said. "You were defending Amanda right up until a minute ago."

Hannah shrugged. "I'm busy eating my lunch." She pushed her food around with her fork, but nobody was convinced.

"You aren't paying that much attention to your lunch," Avery said slyly. "Maybe you're occupied thinking of a certain _snack_."

"Wh-what!?" Hannah started sweating. "I wasn't thinking about Amanda!"

"Why not? I'm hot shit."

Hannah froze. Amanda was standing behind her with a hand on her shoulder.

The Grey Team girls greeted Amanda as if they hadn't just been disparaging her. "What brings you to our table?" Avery asked.

"Y'all were staring at me and I figured you were talkin' shit," Amanda answered.

"What? We would _never_."

Hannah scowled at her friend's audacity.

Mary grinned. "We were just talking about Hannah's crush." Technically not a lie.

Amanda adopted a falsely serious tone. "Are you guys bullying my study buddy? That's not cool."

"Study buddy, eh?" Avery, Mary, and Blair looked back and forth between Hannah and Amanda, eyebrows rising.

"Yeah, she's been a real help," Amanda said with uncharacteristic sincerity. "By the way, Hannah Banana, can you help me study for a makeup test? I kinda flunked that last history of magic test."

"What the hell, Amanda," Hannah said, trying to sound annoyed and failing fantastically. She was acutely aware that the Grey Team was watching her closely. "You're never going to learn, are you?"

"That's why I've got you," Amanda replied. "You're way more interesting to listen to than Finnelan. I'll meet you at the usual place after class, okay?"

"Sure thing, Amanda."

"Thanks a bunch." Amanda said. "I owe you a million." She gave Hannah's ponytail a twirl and went back to her own table.

"So," Avery said. "You're study buddies with Amanda?"

Hannah blushed. "I'm just being a good classmate."

"Whatever you say, _Hannah Banana,_ " Mary teased.

"I can't help it if she calls me whatever she wants!"

"She owes you a million, she said," Blair recalled. "A million what? Kisses?"

"It's not like that, okay!"

"Isn't it though?" Barbara joined in. "She finds you 'way more interesting to listen to than Finnelan.' Looks like you've got your work cut out for you."

"Not you too, Barbara!" Hannah pouted. "You girls are the worst."

"Never mind us, Hannah," Barbara said, patting her best friend on the back. "At least you've got a date to look forward to."

"Shut up," Hannah mumbled. She twirled her ponytail just as Amanda had and tried not to grin like a dork when she thought about her upcoming "date" with her crush.


	3. January 3rd, "Follow a character through a daily routine"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A day in the life of Diana Cavendish as she pursues Akko

Diana woke up promptly at 6:30 a.m. with a sense of purpose and nervous vigour. She had a plan for today, as she did every day, but this time with a particular goal in mind.

At 7:00 a.m. breakfast was served. Diana usually arrived at the cafeteria several after breakfast had begun due to a tendency to make sure the other students in the east dormitory were getting up. She was particularly late today after going out of her way to make sure Akko got up. She practically had to lead her to the cafeteria by the hand. Well, she didn't need to, but she did it anyway.

Morning classes began at 8:00 a.m. and Diana was as attentive as usual in her first period class. That was because Akko wasn't taking that course. For the remainder of her morning classes, Diana allowed her attention to waver. She stole glances at Akko, stifling chuckles with her hand as she watched the rambunctious girl screw up her face in concentration as she scribbled notes.

At noon, morning classes ended and the students went to the cafeteria for lunch. Diana insisted Akko eat lunch with her and her roommates. After much persuasion, Akko agreed.

"It's so nice of you to join us," Hannah said. "I wonder if we'll be seeing more of you."

"Maybe," Akko said. "Turns out Diana's pretty fun to hang out with."

"Isn't she though?" Barbara watched Diana's reaction out of the corner of her eye. "And she's _much_ more fun to hang out with when you're around."

Diana took a bite of her lunch and said nothing, pretending as if a rosy blush hadn't spread across her cheeks.

At 1:30 p.m. afternoon classes began, and Diana took her advance one step further. She sat next to Akko in each of her classes.

"You don't need to keep an eye on me," Akko told her. "I can take notes by myself, y'know."

"What if I want to keep an eye on you for other reasons?" Diana smiled coyly. Akko blushed and concentrated (or tried to) on her notes.

Afternoon classes ended at 4 p.m. and Diana set about her extracurricular duties: assisting classmates, helping out the professors, and coming up with more excuses to spend time with Akko.

At 6:30 p.m. Diana, Hannah, and Barbara went to the cafeteria for dinner. Diana stared longingly at the Red Team's table as she ate her dinner and silently endured her roommates' teasing, pouting ever so slightly.

"I remember back when Diana complained about people who have no patience," Hannah said.

"Your glass of water is right there," Barbara said. "No need to go thirsty like this."

7:30 p.m. marked the beginning of the study period, and Diana wasted no time in finding Akko and inviting her to review course material with her. She sweetened her offer with the promise of flying practice afterward. Akko took the bait. One cozy study session later, they were huddled together on the same broom. If Akko questioned why practicing flying on a broom required Diana to sit behind her with her arms around her waist, she didn't let Diana know.

At 10:00 p.m. all students were to be in bed with the lights out, but Diana chose to ignore this. She wasn't about to give up her quality time with Akko. In time it was to dark for them to continue and Akko yawned out a suggestion that they go back inside.

"We should hold hands to keep each other from stumbling," Diana told her.

"Oh," Akko said. "Right. Good idea."

They walked in silence, mutually thankful for the cover of darkness hiding their blushing faces. When they reached the third-floor hallway, Akko tried to think of something to say to defuse the awkwardness before they parted.

Diana had no such plans. She slipped her hand out of Akko's and kissed her on the cheek. "Good night, Akko," she said warmly.

"Um, yeah!" Akko spluttered. "Night good! I mean, good night!"

As she walked away, Diana heard Akko mutter a bit to loudly: "Where did that come from!? How do I make it happen again!?"


	4. January 4th, "A character tries to confess something to another character but..."

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reina tries to confess to Kumiko, but the Kumiko immediately jumps to her own conclusions before anything is really said

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Does anyone even *do* Kumirei anymore? lol
> 
> Special thanks to @ryuucaro for pretty much coming up with the idea for this one. Check out her art (including KumiRei art), it's great!

Reina took a deep breath to calm herself. She was never like this. It used to be that only Taki-sensei could shake her cool demeanour.

She had asked Kumiko to meet her somewhere special to both of them, the mountain shrine overlooking the city. The site of her first "confession of love" to Kumiko. _I can't believe I was that oblivious,_ Reina thought. She had been too occupied with her childish crush on Taki-sensei to realize her growing feelings were something other than platonic. She'd spent hours wondering what might've happened if she'd kissed Kumiko that night, if she'd touched Kumiko's lips with her own instead of just her finger...

Kumiko was already at the shrine, leaning against the railing. Reina had intentionally arrived a few minutes late to avoid the strain of making awkward conversation with her crush before they reached their destination. Seeing Kumiko in her casual clothes, a t-shirt and a pair of _agonizingly_ short shorts, only made Reina's heart race faster. _So much for calming down._

She tapped Kumiko on the shoulder. "Hey, Kumiko," she said.

"Eeeuggh!?" Kumiko jumped like a frightened cat. 

"There's no need to be so high-strung," Reina teased. _I'm the one who has a reason to be nervous, she thought._

"Of course I'm going to be on edge when you tell me to come all the way out here," Kumiko said. "You did tell me you would totally kill me, remember?"

"I did, didn't I?" Reina smiled that rare smile of hers. "And you showed up anyway."

Kumiko laughed. "I said I was prepared for you to kill me. I meant it when I said I wouldn't abandon you."

 _You might not feel that way when I confess to you,_ Reina thought.

"Nice one-piece," Kumiko commented, her gaze trailing down Reina's white dress. Reina could almost _feel_ Kumiko's eyes on her. "I feel kinda underdressed now. You're really pretty."

"You look cute too!" Reina wanted to slap herself. _If I said that any quicker I might as well have come out to her right then._

"Ehehe, really?" Kumiko touched the back of her neck self-consciously. "I think that's the first time you've ever called me cute."

"That can't be true," Reina said. "I must've said it before." _I've definitely thought it before..._

"I'm pretty sure I'd remember if a cute girl like you said something that nice to me," Kumiko replied.

Reina steeled herself. She could only stall so long. "There's something I need to tell you, Kumiko."

"You can tell me anything, Reina." Kumiko smiled.

"I know, Kumiko." Reina's words caught in her throat. She swallowed, clenching and unclenching her fists. _I only have to say three words, she thought. I like you. How hard can it be?_

"I like you."

Kumiko's first reaction was confusion. She giggled nervously, unsure of what to say. Then "understanding" dawned on her. "Oh! You're practicing your confession to Taki-sensei!"

Reina blinked. "What?"

"You really had me going there," Kumiko said. "My heart even skipped a beat. Your feelings will get across to Taki-sensei for sure!"

Reina was flabbergasted. "I... I'm serious. I like you."

"Nice follow-up," Kumiko said, still completely oblivious to the situation. "But you should really gush if you want to blow him away."

"Alright then." Reina took a deep breath. "Kumiko, I've liked you for longer than I realized. You have a terrible personality, and that makes us a good match. I want to be the only one who knows the real you under that good girl mask you wear. I want you to be mine."

"That's great," Kumiko said, blushing despite herself. "But you shouldn't just practice saying nice things to me. You should come up with some for Taki-sensei too."

"This isn't about Taki-sensei!" Reina's nerves were fraying. "This is about you! I love you!"

"I love you too, Reina!" The way that Kumiko responded without missing a beat told Reina everything she needed to know: Kumiko thought she meant love between friends. Her feelings weren't coming across.

Reina scowled. "You're the worst, Kumiko!" She turned on her heel and stalked back down the forest path.

"Reina!" Kumiko called after her. "Ah, I screwed up, didn't I?" She had no idea what she'd said wrong, though.

She let out a deep breath. "It's hardly my fault if I can't understand what she wants. I almost thought she was confessing to _me. _" She'd started sweating when those three words left Reina's mouth. And who wouldn't have that reaction, being confessed to by a beautiful girl?__

__She wondered what she _would've_ done if Reina really had confessed to her. "Saying no to her would be abandoning her in a way, so she'd kill me if I said no? I guess I'd have to say yes." Kumiko laughed. "Wouldn't that be something?" _I'm kind of disappointed she didn't...__ _


	5. January 5th, "Write about a minor thing a character is paranoid about"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hannah is feeling anxious and lonely and she receives some unexpected advice from Amanda.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is vaguely a prequel to the 2nd of January drabble. I guess?

"Whoa, what have we here?" Amanda said. "Hannah England all by herself? Is the world coming to an end?"

"Screw off, O'Neill." Hannah wasn't in any mood to put up with Amanda's bullshit. She had chosen a fourth floor storeroom to hide in so she could avoid everyone. Apparently Amanda had chosen the same room to avoid being caught by the teachers for her latest escapade.

"No reason we can't share the same hidey-hole." Amanda pulled up an old chair and sat on it backwards in the most unladylike way possible. "Hey isn't it cold down there on the floor?"

"I'm fine."

Amanda groaned. "You were supposed to say something edgy like 'my life is cold.' Seriously, what's up with you, England? It's weird not seeing you tailing Cavendish, but it's double weird not seeing you attached to Parker's hip."

"I don't wanna talk about it."

"So that's what's going on!" Amanda clapped her hands together. "Amanda loves some drama. Tell me all about it and you'll feel better. Probably."

Hannah sighed. "If I do, will you leave me alone?"

"No promises."

Hannah hugged her knees closer to her chest. "I feel lonely. It's like Barbara and Diana don't have any time for me anymore. Babs is always talking with Lotte about _Nightfall,_ and Diana's got her whole thing with Akko..."

"I just feel like I'm being... replaced."

"Eh?" Amanda scratched her head. "They're just hanging out with their other friends."

"I just feel like no one wants to spend time with me," Hannah said despondently. "We used to spend all our time together, now we're hanging out less and less. Maybe soon we won't be hanging out at all."

"Yikes." Amanda had no idea what to say to that. "Um, well they're your roommates, so they've got to spend some time with you."

"Weirdly enough, that doesn't make me feel better."

"Don't you have other friends that you hang out with sometimes?" Amanda asked.

"Not really," Hannah said. "I mean, I'm on good terms with the Grey Team, but we're not really _friends_. Not the way I'm friends with Barbara and Diana."

"Oh. Well. You shouldn't get all bent out of shape. Parker and Cavendish are still going to be your friends. You just need to make some friends of your own. Then you won't feel so lonely."

"Well, I'm kind of bad at that," Hannah replied.

"Must be your attitude."

"Weren't you trying to make me feel better?"

"Aw shit, you're right." Amanda rocked back and forth in her chair. "I dunno." She shrugged. "Just reach out and grab someone and say 'hey, let's be friends.' That's what's worked for me. I don't know what else to tell ya. Now if you're done moping, I've gotta—"

She got up to leave, but a tugging at her sleeve held her back. "Hey," Hannah said softly. "Let's be friends."

"Huh!?" Amanda's eyes almost bugged out of her head. "Me?"

Hannah was just as surprised by her own words. _I can't believe I'm clinging to O'Neill of all people,_ she thought. She did her best to recover with a veneer of her usual sass. "Put your money where your mouth is."

"Aw, heck." Amanda would never have thought that Hannah England of all people would be asking to be her friend. _I shouldn't be surprised though,_ she thought. _No one can resist the O'Neill appeal._ And if nothing else she did sort of owe it to Hannah after making her spill her guts. But still...

"Do we even have anything in common?" she asked.

Hannah shrugged. "We have the same hair colour?"

"People don't just become friends over having the same hair colour," Amanda said. "Besides, our hair colour is different. You're like all auburn, and I've got these sweet salmon undertones."

"We're both redheads, jackass. Or do you really want to be called a salmonhead?"

"Hey, at least it's unique."

"You know what? It suits you. You're definitely one of a kind."

Hannah and Amanda glared at each other until the latter suddenly burst into laughter. "You really are terrible at this making friends thing, huh? Can't help yourself from being sassy. I kinda like it though. I could use someone to keep me on my toes." Amanda held out her hand.

Hannah accepted and they shook on their new friendship. "I'll let you know now that I'm not going to let you get me in trouble, O'Neill."

"No need to be so stiff," Amanda said. "Or would it be too much for little miss aristocrat to call me 'Amanda'?" She tightened her grip on Hannah's hand by way of a challenge.

"No problem," Hannah answered, tightening her grip in turn. "And I suppose my reputation won't suffer too much if I let you call me 'Hannah'."

"That's the spirit, Hannah Banana."


	6. January 6th, "A character tells a really dumb lie"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Amanda attempts to avoid suspicion about her friendship(?) with Hannah in the dumbest way possible.
> 
> More content in the "Hannah Banana" continuity

Amanda was pretty damn pleased with herself today, which was really saying something. She'd just pulled off an epic caper without a hitch. _Some of my best work, if I do say so myself,_ she thought. 

She hadn't expected much to come of agreeing to become friends with Hannah, and she was pleasantly surprised by not only how much fun Hannah could be (the girl had a real mouth on her) . She certainly hadn't anticipated getting _helped_ by her. One look at her test marks was all it took.

"This won't do," Hannah said sternly. "I refuse to be friends with a drop-out."

"Welp, guess this whole friendship thing was a bust," Amanda said airily.

Hannah raised an eyebrow. "What are you talking about, blockhead? I'll just tutor you so you can pass."

After initially resisting the idea, she relented. Her study sessions with Hannah dramatically increased her marks. It was almost as if all that mumbo jumbo made sense when Hannah explained it. Thanks to her, Amanda was doing better than ever at school, but there was only one problem: Amanda had no idea how to thank her.

Eventually she decided a thank you present would do nicely; the only issue was that there was nowhere to get one on the school grounds. Naturally, her solution was to skip her morning classes and fly into town to shop. She faked sick to cover her absence and was back at Luna Nova with the perfect gift before anyone noticed she was gone. She couldn't wait to see the look on Hannah's face. All she had to do now was to sneak the present over to the Blue Team room without being seen—

"Hey, Amanda, what's in the bag?"

Amanda nearly ran into Akko as she rushed toward the East Dormitory. "What!? Um, you know. The usual. Nothing."

"It must be something wild if you don't want me to know." Akko tried to peer inside the bag, so Amanda held it behind her back.

"The less you know, the better." Amanda wasn't ashamed of her friendship with Hannah, but she didn't want anyone to know about this little gesture of kindness. She didn't want anyone to think she'd gone soft. At least, that's she told herself.

"Where are you going?" Akko asked.

"Th-that way." Without thinking, Amanda pointed toward the East Dormitory. _Great going, jackass,_ she berated herself.

"What are you going to do there?"

Amanda needed a lie, and she needed it quick. Usually lies rolled off her tongue as easily as flirty comments, but for some reason she faltered. "Um, I'm going to pull a prank. On Hannah. Yeah, that's it."

Akko lit up. "Ooh! I want in on it!"

 _Shit._ She should've known Akko wouldn't want to miss out on a prank. "Sorry, but this is too big. Um, I wouldn't want you to be affected by the fallout."

"You don't have to face that alone," Akko said. "That's what friends are for!"

Amanda tried to tell Akko that she didn't need to do that, but Akko wouldn't take no for an answer. Her big, dumb lie had sealed her fate. If only she had said something else, she wouldn't have Akko tailing her. She was off her game, unable to think her way out of this situation.

She knocked on the Blue Team's door as quietly as possible. "I guess there's no one there, better luck next time—"

Hannah opened the door. "Amanda!" she said enthusiastically. "Oh. And Akko. Diana's not here right now."

"Why do you think I want to see Diana?" Akko asked.

Hannah gave her a look. "Anyway, come on in, Amanda."

Amanda tried to silently tell Hannah to dismiss Akko, but it was a no-go.

"You can come inside to wait for Diana, I guess."

Amanda hung her head as they entered the room. They sat down at the coffee table. Akko eyed Amanda impatiently, desperate to see what the prank was going to be.

"What brings you here, Amanda?" Hannah asked. "Not that you need a reason to visit," she added shyly.

Amanda's tongue felt like it was stuck in place. She silently handed Hannah the bag.

Hannah accepted it with a puzzled expression that turned to joy when she pulled the first gift out of the bag. "I've wanted this book for ages! I don't know what this is for, but I really appreciate it."

"It's thanks for helping me study," Amanda said. Her face felt hot for some reason. Seeing Hannah so happy made her stomach feel weird. "I also got you a sort of joke gift," she added, flinching in advance.

Akko perked up at the mention of a "joke gift," and she almost burst into laughter when she saw what it was.

"A banana?" Hannah was confused. In her hand was a good-sized plushie banana.

"Cuz I call you Hannah Banana." Amanda's face grew even hotter. "It's stupid I know, but—"

"I love it!" Hannah gave the plushie a hug. "I know where to put this." She got up and arranged the banana on her bed.

Akko leaned toward Amanda. "I can't believe you lied to me so you could give Hannah a present in secret," she whispered.

Amanda gurgled out a non-response.

"Amanda, do you realize what you did? You slipped Hannah your banana. Lewd."

"Sh-shut up!"

"Were they all out of eggplants?"

Amanda buried her face in her hands. Next time she would have to come up with a good lie in advance. _Wait,_ she thought. _Next time?_


	7. January 7th, "The three worst things that happened to the protagonist before the story starts"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Amanda gets a letter from her family and opens up to Hannah about some of her worst experiences

Hannah entered the Green Team's room without even knocking on the door first. "Hey, Yankee. Someone wrote you a letter." Technically students were supposed to pick up their own letters, but what Finnelan didn't know wouldn't hurt her.

Amanda, who was lounging on her bed, perked up. "Oh, you wrote me a love letter?"

Hannah rolled her eyes. "As if. I would never do that. At all. Ever."

"The joke would've been on you. I can't read."

"I can't tell if you're being serious, and I don't think I want to know."

Hannah waited for a retort that was not forthcoming. Amanda was glaring at the letter with the kind of fury reserved for one's worst enemies. And cockroaches.

"Is that your family's wax seal?"

"Who knows?" Amanda pulled out her wand and torched the letter out of existence.

"What the hell, Amanda?" It didn't take a genius to realize that Amanda had _mixed feelings_ about her family. "Uh, do you want to talk about it?"

"No," Amanda said. "There's nothing to talk about. They don't deserve anyone's time. They'd love to have it. They want everything. Greedy, ugly garbage people."

Hannah blinked. "O-kaaay." She sat down next to Amanda. "You don't have to say anything you don't want to."

Amanda turned on her side, facing away from Hannah. "Those bastards pushed me into studying magic because my grandma's will . She wasn't even buried before they started squabbling over you was going to get her cash. They're disgusting." Every word she spat out had more venom than the last. Her family's bullshit had poisoned her view of magic. Her friends had to heal the damage her family created.

"If those oil baron chucklefucks think they can squeeze money out of them, they've got another thing coming," Amanda said bitterly. "I should donate millions to solar power research or something, just to spite them. r maybe I could give it to eco-terrorists. Wait, I could _be_ an eco-terrorist!"

"I see." Hannah searched for a tactful way of validating Amanda's feelings without saying what she really felt: that the O'Neill's were lower than dirt for hurting Amanda. "Your entire family can't be all bad. Isn't there someone who... isn't like that?"

Amanda shrugged. "My cousins are alright. But they can't afford to be seen with me."

"What do you mean?"

"That story's a real doozy." Amanda shifted again, sitting up and taking her pillow into her lap and scrunching it up. "The year before I started going to Luna Nova there was this big family gathering, right? A stupid ball or gala or whatever. They forced me to wear this god-awful frilly dress and did my hair like something out of a period drama. Seriously, it was the worst I've ever looked."

"Yeah, you look way better in a suit."

"What was that?"

"Uh, nothing. You were saying about the gala?"

"Right. Anyway, my shitty family was totally trying to set me and my cousins up with rich boys so they could make themselves even richer. Rich guys act even more entitled than regular guys, and they're twice as greasy. I practically had to use my wand as a flyswatter to keep them away. One of them got a little too rough with one of my cousins and I may have sorta kinda kicked three of his teeth out."

"Serves him right," Hannah said.

"I'm glad you think so. No one at the party did. Especially my family. They said I was a troublemaker. After that night my name was mud and nobody in the States would be caught dead with me."

Amanda hadn't been a fan of the snobbish social circles she'd forced to run in, but she had made a few friends... who dropped her the second their own social standing was at risk.

"Good riddance, she said. "I stopped even trying to meet their messed up expectations. I cut up all my dresses and sheared my hair off. That's where this iconic look comes from," she added, pointing at her wild hairdo.

"Well, that was enlightening," Hannah said. _No wonder she has such a hate on for the aristocracy,_ she thought. _We must seem like the exact same kind of people._ But they weren't, were they? Honestly Hannah didn't know how she would've reacted if she had been part of the American upper-class rather than the British. It was a stark reminder of how much self-improvement she still had left to do.

"Well, do you know what we say about those kinds of people on this side of the pond?" Hannah asked.

"What?"

"They can go bugger themselves."

Amanda had been expecting something dry and sanctimonious. Anything but _that_. She burst out laughing. "Actually I think they're a little too stiff for that. Shit, Hannah, I really needed that."

Hannah grinned giddily. She was just a little too pleased that she had improved Amanda's mood. "I'm glad I could I help. I don't like it when you're sad."

Her friend's naked sincerity spooked her. "Don't get all mushy on me," she said dismissively.

Hannah took Amanda's dismissal as a challenge. "I'll get as mushy as I like." She winked. "Maybe if I'm feeling feisty I might even get touchy-feely."

A tingling sensation passed over Amanda's entire body and settled in her stomach. Hannah's words awakened feelings she hadn't allowed herself to have in forever. Gay feelings. For a girl. And not just "this girl is hot" feelings. _Feelings_ feelings.

 _No way. I'm not getting myself caught up in that kind of thing again._ Everyone knew about Amanda's playboy image, but nobody knew that her romantic history had one sad dead end of an entry. What she'd neglected to mention earlier that one of the people who abandoned her was her first and only girlfriend. A girl who was a little too similar to Hannah for her comfort.

 _Figures a dumbass like me would have a type that's so bad for me,_ Amanda thought. She liked Hannah a lot, but not enough to risk getting hurt again. _Sorry, Hannah Banana, but we aren't getting any closer than this._


	8. January 8th, "A character pretends to be a ghost"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akko decides to troll Diana using an invisibility spell and things go as well as you'd expect

"I think I did it this time!" Akko exclaimed. "Did I do it?"

Akko had been attempting an invisibility spell for the past three days. Her roommates were dead tired of her attempts, and Sucy had said multiple times that she wished Akko could learn a spell that would make her inaudible instead.

"Come on, girls," Akko whined. "Tell me if I did it."

"I can't tell," Sucy deadpanned. "I can't see anything."

"Awww, I really thought I got it this time," Akko said, drooping with disappointment.

"Akko," Lotte said patiently. "You did it. You're invisible."

"Yay! Sucy, why didn't you say anything?"

Sucy rolled her eyes.

Akko pumped her fist. "Diana said I'd never pull it off without her help. She thinks I can't do anything by myself. I'll show her!"

"What are you going to show her exactly?" Sucy asked her. "You're invisible, remember?"

"Very funny, Sucy," Akko said. "Diana won't know what hit her. Because she won't see me. Or know I'm there. See you later! But you won't see me!" Akko ruined her dramatic exit by tripping over her own feet, which it turned out she was a little too used to be able to see. She scrambled out the door and off to the East Dormitory.

"So how hard go you think this is going to backfire on her?"

"Sucy, don't be mean."

*******

Akko slipped into the Blue Team's room as quietly as possible. Diana was sitting at her desk and writing in her diary, completely unsuspecting of the intruder planning mischief.

Her plan was simple: pretend to be a ghost. Move things around, make mysterious noises, and generally spook Diana. She began moving various objects around the room. She made a low groan as she picked up Diana's teddy bear and waved it through the air.

The noise attracted Diana's attention. She wasn't spooked. She seemed more perplexed than surprised. "Whoever is doing this, I am not amused. Reveal yourself."

"I'm a ghoooooooost." Akko disguised her voice with a classic ghostly wail effect. "I've been haunting this room for three hundred years!"

"That is highly doubtful," Diana said calmly. "Though malignant spirits exist, they always make their presence known through visual means."

"I'm a poltergeist!" Akko replied. "We're, uh, too shy to show ourselves!"

Diana crossed her arms. "If you've been haunting this room for three hundred years, and yet you've only started causing trouble today."

"I, uh, wanted to get to know you first. I said poltergeists are shy!"

"Here's the thing, Miss Poltergeist," Diana said. "I don't think you're a poltergeist at all. I think you're one of my classmates attempting to pull a prank on me by means of an invisibility spell."

"Urk!"

"My first guess would've been Akko," Diana said, "but there's no way she could accomplish such magic. I suppose Chloe might be responsible, though of course—"

Akko was so offended she dropped the ghost voice. "Hey, that's mean! You shouldn't talk that way about your friend!"

"I beg your pardon?"

"You know what? You're a big stinkhead! A snobby, stuck-up aristocrat!"

Diana had enough of the "poltergeist's" behaviour. She twirled her wand and the blanket flew off Barbara's bed and toward the source of the noise. Akko was caught in the blanket and Diana quickly pushed her onto Barbara's bed. She wrestled the blanket away and undid the invisibility spell.

The look on her face was priceless. "Akko!?"

"That's right, Diana!" Akko said, awfully smug for someone being pinned down. "I learned how to do an invisibility spell!"

Diana looked puzzled for once. "Well, as your friend, I'm glad that your magical abilities have advanced this much. But as your friend I'm also extremely frustrated that your first impulse after learning an invisibility spell was to use it to harass me."

Akko frowned. "What else was I supposed to do? I wanted to prove you wrong."

"But what if you had walked in on me changing?"

"Why did you think of me seeing you naked that quick?"

Before Diana could sputter a response, the door opened. Hannah and Barbara walked into the room and saw quite the scene: Diana pinning Akko down, the two of them tangled up in a blanket.

Hannah whistled. "Hot damn, you two are really going at it. Isn't this is the second time this month?"

Barbara was less amused. "Ladies, I know you two are horny, but could you keep it to your own beds? I don't want to clean up your mess."

Diana responded by showing a Akko how to perform a truly remarkable invisibility spell. Unfortunately she couldn't cast it quickly enough to prevent Akko from seeing her flustered expression.


	9. January 9th, “A character is given some insightful advice by someone they trust but don’t get to see that often”

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akko spends some time with her bro, Andrew, who gives her some advice on how to woo an aristocratic woman... not that Akko would need that for anything, right?

"What did you bring me all the out to Glastonbury to see?" Akko asked. As if on cue a limousine pulled up on the street next to them. A familiar figure stepped out and the car drove away.

"It's my boy Andrew Hanbridge!" Amanda declared.

"Andrew!" Akko lunged for a hug, which Andrew side-stepped with a fencer's grace."

"It's a pleasure to see you again, Akko," he said. "How is your magical education going?"

"Awesome as always," Akko said. "How's politics?"

"As dry as ever."

"Damn, Hanbridge," Amanda said, elbowing him in the side. "I figured if anyone could make politics wet, it'd be you."

Andrew grimaced. "And you're as tasteful as ever, Miss O'Neill."

Amanda dabbed in response.

The trio made their way to a café and Andrew suggested they take an outside table, knowing that way the noise the two girls would inevitably cause would disturb other customers as little as possible. They got their orders: an Earl Grey tea for Andrew, a pile of sweets and pastries for Amanda, a coffee with insane amounts of sugar and cream for Akko. As soon as they were settled, Amanda launched right into interrogation mode.

"So, Hanbridge," she said. "How are you doing in the chick department? Or the fella' department? Or both?"

"Bold of you to assume I have time for such dalliances," Andrew said. He turned the question back on the girls. "And how are your romantic prospects?"

"Romance?" Amanda looked disgusted. "What kind of a mush-headed softie do you take me for?"

Amanda and Andrew looked at Akko and waited for her answer.

"What, me? I'm not all lovey-dovey with anyone. Hey, why are you two looking at me like that?"

Andrew grinned. "It seems to me as if you aren't being entirely honest with us. Wouldn't you agree, Miss O'Neill?"

"Damn right I do," Amanda said. "Akko's got the hots for someone and everyone knows it."

Akko was genuinely confused. "What are you talking about? Wait, are you saying I've got a chance with a hottie? Who!?"

Amanda and Andrew looked at each other and back at Akko. "Diana Cavendish," they said in unison.

"What?" Akko laughed. "I don't have a thing for Diana. She's my rival."

"Is that truly the nature of your relationship?" Andrew asked. "I understand that you've been getting closer to her."

"Of course I've been getting closer to her," Akko said. "She's my rival. I'm going to get closer and closer and then before she even knows what's happening, I'll be the one on top!"

Amanda groaned. "Jennifer's tits, do you even hear yourself?"

"I see," Andrew said, not addressing the double-entendre. "And what will you do should you achieve your goal and best Diana?"

Akko opened her mouth to answer before she realized she had nothing to say. "What do you mean?"

"If you become a better witch than Diana, you won't have any reason to chase after her any more," Andrew explained. "She won't be your rival anymore."

"But, she..." Akko realized that Diana didn't care about being the best and would make no effort to continue their contest. Diana didn't even see them as rivals.

"Hey, maybe someone else will end up being her rival," Amanda said, a slight tease in her voice. "Then someone else will be getting closer to Diana and—what was it you said?—be on top."

"No!" Akko scowled. "I'm the only one who can be her rival! No one else!"

"There's no need to be so possessive over your rival," Andrew said. He grinned. "Unless of course, you don't really mean 'rival' when you say it."

"Crush!" Amanda pretend-coughed.

Akko's cheeks turned pink. " I don't have a crush! I just want to be better than her! And that means I have to be close to her all the time so I can learn her weaknesses! Just because I like spending time with her doesn't mean anything! And so what if I think she's really nice, and pretty, and..."

Andrew and Amanda's eyebrows rose higher and higher as Akko spoke.

"Oh heck," Akko said. "I have a crush on Diana."

"No," Amanda said, faking surprise, "really?"

"Congratulations," Andrew said. "You're gay for Diana."

"Oh no!" Akko wailed. "I'm gay for Diana! What do I do!?"

"Pray to the sapphic goddesses," Amanda said. "You're in for a rough time if you go after the princess."

Andrew scratched his chin. His mind went to Diana's unusual fondness for Akko, and they way the two of them held hands when they fired off the final Shiny Arc. He doubted Akko would have too much trouble wooing Diana.

"If you want to court a woman of Diana's breeding," Andrew said, "there's one simple thing you should keep in mind."

"What's that?" Akko was on the edge of her seat.

"Be yourself."

"What!?" Amanda yelled. "That's terrible advice!"

"Are you sure about that?" Akko gave Andrew a dubious look. "I mean, I'm great, but I don't think I'm Diana's type. Shouldn't you be telling me to, like, learn a bunch of rich people manners or something?"

Andrew shook his head. "You're not the first person to be interested in Diana, but you are the first to get close to her. That's because you don't care about her status or her family name. If you start pretending to be someone you're not because you think that's what you want, she'll only turn you away like the others."

"Just be Akko. No one else can do that."

"Oh." Akko had never heard anyone praise her for being her. "Uh, okay. Thanks. I'll try that."

"Now that we've gotten the mushy stuff out of the way," Amanda said, "I want to hear more about how Akko wants to top Diana."

"Sh-shut up!"


	10. January 10th,  "A character shows off their pet"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Croix and Ursula move in together, but the ex-con brings along more than Ursula bargained for...

"I can't believe we're together again after so long," Ursula said cheerily. "It's like a dream come true."

"Not to put a damper on your happy mood, but I wasn't even in prison for a year," Croix said. She couldn't not point out the mathematical truth.

"Not even your nitpicking can ruin my mood today."

"Can I get that in writing?"

The already cramped room atop the astronomy tower was filled with boxes. Croix was moving in with Ursula and along with her came all of her stuff. She was hardly a materialist, but she couldn't bear to be parted from her mechanical doodads.

Naturally Ursula was the one carrying most of the weight. Croix hadn't exactly gotten a lot of exercise in the slammer, and as she kept telling her lover, Ursula had astonishingly well-developed muscles.

"This is the last one," Ursula said, hefting a medium-sized box. "Honestly, Croix. How many boxes of nuts and bolts do you need?"

Croix recognized the box. She snatched it from Ursula's hands and hastily opened it, dropping the box on the floor as soon as she retrieved its contents: one of her old "evolved" flying brooms.

"I thought you were supposed to get rid of those," Ursula said, eyeing the object with suspicion. "Why do you still have one of those old roombas?"

Croix hugged the roomba to her chest protectively. "They're called sorcery units, and his name is Rutherford."

"Why is it a boy?" Ursula asked. "It's a machine." 

" _He_ is a boy is because he's named after the _father_ of nuclear physics," Croix replied. "Rutherford would be a terrible name for a girl."

Ursula crossed her arms. "You haven't explained why you still have it." Understandably, both the magical and non-magical worlds had mixed feelings about the technology which had caused so much chaos, some of it unintentionally.

"Because he's my baby and I love him!" Croix spoke with absolute sincerity, cuddling the roomba. "He's the only boy I've ever loved!" she exclaimed. "He's also the only boy who's ever seen me naked."

Ursula couldn't help but laugh. "I've never seen you get this worked up." She was almost jealous of the little vacuum. "You realize you're talking about a machine, right?"

"Come on, it's totally normal!" Croix said. As if a woman who once taught at a school while wearing a cape could ever be trusted on what was normal. "Tons of people bond with their roombas, and this one flies!"

The corner of Ursula's mouth twitched. "So you agree it's a roomba?"

Croix hand waved her slip-up. "There's nothing wrong with having a non-human companion. You have your stupid bird—"

Alcor squawked in protest.

"—and I have Rutherford. C'mon, Chariot. He doesn't make a mess. He actually cleans up _my_ messes! And he's super cute while he does it!"

Ursula didn't want to tell her girlfriend no, but she suspected the rest of the faculty wouldn't be so hesitant. "You know why you can't keep it, right?"

Croix's face fell. "How could you turn this sweet, precious boy out onto the street?" She turned the roomba around and showed Ursula a small screen on its side: an emoticon face was displayed on it. "He has a face, Chariot! A face!"

"It... he has a face." Ursula knew it was just lights in a screen. Not a real face. And yet... it was cute. And surely one little mechanized vacuum couldn't cause too much trouble, right?

"Can we keep him?" Croix asked, her bottom lip wobbling like a child's.

"I suppose," Ursula conceded. "But if I see so much as a mean look from him, he's out of here."

Croix cheered. "Did you hear that, Rutherford? You can stay!"

Rutherford beeped in response. Croix patted the top of the machine and set him down on the floor, where he started sucking up dust.

"I can't believe you're so attached to something you step on and ride around on all the time," Ursula said. 

Croix smirked. "Does that mean you don't love _me_?"

Ursula spluttered.


	11. January 11th, "A character attends a party held in honor of someone they don’t really like"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hannah and Barbara are forced to attend one of Louis Blackwell's parties and do a fair bit of mouthing off to him. My bitchy bisexual girls at their best.

"Barbara, what's the opposite of a privilege?" Hannah asked.

Barbara pondered the question. "A responsibility maybe? An obligation? Why do you ask?"

Hannah scowled. "We need more unpleasant word for being forced to show up to parties held for assholes."

There were very few disadvantages to being a member of the British nobility. Obviously the privileges of such a station outweighed any of its possible restrictions. But that was hard to remember when one of the expectations of an aristocrat was to attend the social events of every other aristocrat. No matter how odious the aristocrat. As such, Hannah and Barbara had no choice but to imprison themselves in a ballroom at the Blackwell mansion, surrounded by their fellow partygoers.

"Careful, Han. If you get any ruder, someone might confuse you with Amanda."

"First off, rude. Secondly, I'll save my manners for people who deserve it, Barb. What the hell is this party for anyway? Has Louis Blackwell actually done anything worth celebrating?"

"No, but I think he's feeling insecure after Andrew's party last month and he's soothing his own bruised ego."

That sounded like Blackwell, the perfect example that good breeding didn't mean good manners. Hannah held a particular disgust toward him, not only for his repetitive attempts to get her to go out with him, but for the way he complimented her appearance by putting down Barbara, calling her plain. 

"If only Diana weren't at that magic conference in East Mogiana," Hannah said. "Then we'd have some intelligent conversation."

"It's a shame he didn't invite Andrew," Barbara replied. "Then we'd have some eye candy." Both girls laughed. "I'm going to get a drink," Barbara said. "Would you like me to get you something too?"

"Sure," Hannah said. "You know what I'll like best."

Barbara smiled and nodded, then disappeared into the crowd. To Hannah's dismay, another figure emerged from the crowd, as if he had been waiting for her to be alone.

Hannah glared at him. "Well if it isn't Louis Blackhead."

"It's Blackwell!" Louis's ego was far too large and easily bruised.

"I know, you basic bastard."

"You almost sound like that Amanda O'Neill girl," Louis spat. 

Hannah hated that Barbara's prediction came so soon. And that Louis was the one that said it.

"That's your problem, England. That ugly little attitude of yours. At this rate, no one's going to marry a pathetic witch like you."

"You're just mad that I refused to go out with you."

Louis sneered. "Don't think that makes you special. I ask out lots of girls. What, are you saving yourself for Hanbridge or something? Dream on. He doesn't have to slum it with a witch like you. Maybe if you're lucky, Lady Cavendish will let you and that Parker girl live out your spinster lives in that mansion of hers. Just keep sucking up to your betters 

Hannah knew better than to rise to Louis's barbs. The boy thrived on attention and the cruellest thing she could do was deny him a response. Unless he insulted Barbara, in which case he'd get three inches of heel driven into his foot.

Barbara returned with a drink in each hand and passed one into Hannah's hand as she took her place at her best friend's side. "Well if it isn't our gracious host," she said with barely disguised venom. "What brings you to our corner of the ballroom?" And what would get you to leave, her tone implied.

Louis glared at her. "I was just telling Miss England about her dismal marriage prospects."

"What makes you think Hannah can't land a suitable spouse?"

"Well, she isn't very attractive," Louis said as if he hadn't hit on Hannah for years. "Her family's estates are hardly worth envying. And, of course, no nobleman would ever attach himself to one of you blasted witches."

"Is that so?" Barbara seemed oddly unperturbed by Louis's words. Usually she would jump down someone's throat before they could finish an insult against her best friend. "You're saying no one will marry a witch?"

"That's right," he said. "Witches aren't worth anything these days."

Barbara clutched her chest in feigned horror. "That's awful, whatever shall I do?" She put an arm around Hannah's waist. "I guess if no one else will have us, Hannah and I will have to marry each other. I really can't complain. After all, she _is_ very attractive."

Louis grimaced. Barbara had thrown his harshest insult back in his face. "Fine! You two deserve each other!" He stormed off and was reabsorbed by the crowd, hopefully never to be seen again.

"Thanks, Barb." Hannah gave her best friend a squeeze. "You really showed him." She turned to face Barbara and flash her a grin, but her breath caught when she saw her face.

Barbara was blushing. Full-on blushing. Pink from her neck to her ears. Her mouth was pursed in a tense expression, and her eyes had trouble meeting Hannah's.

"I'm so sorry, Han," she said breathlessly. "That was a really weird thing to say, wasn't it? I don't know what came over me. Saying that I would marry you. Not that I wouldn't marry you! I'd rather be married to you than not be married at all. Not that I think of you as a last resort! I... I'm going to stop talking now."

Now Hannah was blushing herself. She hadn't paid Barbara's comments any mind. But apparently her friend did. Her friend who had just referred to her as "very attractive."

Hannah gave her Barbara a closer look; she certainly was gorgeous. Barbara's dark, silky hair looked exquisite when it was tied up in a ponytail, and the alternate hairstyle gave Hannah a rare glimpse of Barbara's exposed neck. Her purple dress left her slender arms bare. It also revealed her prominent collarbones, as well as a peek at the cleavage of her appreciable bosom...

And then Hannah realized that she was staring at her best friend's boobs.

She cleared her throat. "No, it wasn't weird. Like, I would totally marry you too. Who wouldn't marry their best friend? Especially when their best friend is totally hot and has really nice collar bones and... um..." Her voice softened into nothing, her face heated up as her brain registered the words spewing unbidden from her mouth.

"How about we leave early?" Barbara suggested. "I'm sure Blackwell won't miss us."

Hannah nodded in response, not trusting her traitorous mouth to answer. They walked out of the ballroom and didn't look back.

As a matter of note, Barbara still had her arm around Hannah's waist.


	12. January 12th, "A character gets into an argument with someone much younger than themselves"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Diana catches Croix sneaking around after dark and they get into an argument. Well, it's more of a petty squabble...

Croix chuckled to herself as she stole through the halls of Luna Nova like a thief. A noisy thief who chuckled to herself. Oddly enough, stealth was not the strong point of a woman whose idea of subtlety was wearing an evil villain cape.

Tonight was a very special night. A romantic night for just her and her lover. Ursula had sent her into town for wine—what else could you expect of the French? But it was a fair price to pay for what was to come. It was a shame she couldn't just fly to the top of the tower and save herself the trouble of sneaking through the school, but Ursula was worth the trouble. After all, it wasn't like she was going to be caught or anything...

"I knew it wouldn't be long before I caught you doing something suspicious."

Croix cursed. She'd made it all the way to the third floor corridor without being caught. "Well if it isn't Diana Cavendish," she said as she turned to face her former student.

Diana stood firmly with her hands on her hips. "It is, in fact, Diana Cavendish, and she is wondering why you're creeping through the night like the villain you are."

Croix pointed at Diana accusingly. "Firstly, you mean the villain that I was. Secondly, I'm a member of the faculty and I don't have to explain myself to a student such as yourself. Thirdly, what are you doing out of bed so late?"

"Technically you aren't a teacher again until next term," Diana corrected, her voice betraying her disbelief that Croix was allowed to teach again at all. "And I am on night patrol, and such is my duty to make sure troublemakers such as yourself aren't roaming around in the dark."

"I'm not doing anything wrong," Croix said. "You really shouldn't be so untrusting."

"If that's the case, then what's in the bag?"

A bead of sweat ran down the back of Croix's neck. "Um... wine..."

"Oh, so you're simply bringing alcohol onto the grounds of a school." Diana glared at her, but Croix was almost certain she could she the slightest hint of a self-satisfied grin.

"Well it sounds bad when you put it like that," Croix replied. "Cut me some slack, I just got some stuff for a fun night with Chariot." 

"I hardly see how arranging a midnight rendezvous is behaviour befitting a teacher," Diana said sternly. "Is that any sort of example to set for your students?"

"Hey! I'm an amazing and intelligent witch and I did a lot of great teaching before my whole evil plan thing kicked off." Croix cringed at her own misstep and switched tracks. "Besides, I'm not setting any examples for anybody. Everyone else is asleep and you only learned about it because..."

And then Croix finally put two and two together. "Wait a minute, it's Saturday."

"Should I congratulate you on knowing the days of the week?" Diana quipped.

"You don't have night patrol duty on Saturday."

A crack appeared in Diana's confidence. "Surely you must be mistaken."

"I'm never mistaken." Croix smirked. "What are _you_ doing out of bed at this hour, Diana Cavendish?"

"As I told you, I'm—"

"Why are you wearing Akko's red belt?"

Diana's eyes widened and looked down at her belt. "I specifically made sure I put my own belt back on..." And so she had. She realized she'd been played.

Croix laughed. "I can't believe you fell for that. Sounds like you went for a little midnight rendezvous yourself."

"I did no such thing," Diana argued. "I had a ten thirty rendezvous," she added quietly.

"Of course not," Croix said. "Wouldn't want to stay up too long past your bedtime. You'd better stop bothering me and run off to bed—your own, not Akko's—before I tell Finnelan that her favourite student is breaking the rules for once."

"And I'm sure Professor Finnelan would be interested to know what you've been up to as well," Diana countered.

"Then it seems we're at an impasse," Croix replied.

"Actually, you stand to lose more than I do," Diana said. "I have a perfect record, and a single transgression won't threaten my place here. Your record, on the other hand, is somewhat less than perfect."

Croix hated to admit it, but Diana was right. She couldn't believe she'd been outdone by a kid. Twice.

"Watch your step, Croix Meridies, or you might find yourself stepping on nothing but air," Diana threatened. "Also... I would appreciate if you didn't mention Akko's... activities to Professor Ursula..."

Croix couldn't argue with that. She certainly wouldn't be the one to tell Ursula that her protégée was off having late night rendezvouses.


	13. January 13th, "A character tries to give another character a hug"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Diana tries to hug Akko and somehow messes it up

"Hannah, Barbara, I've called you here today for something very important."

Diana and her roommates were sitting at the coffee table in the middle of the Blue Team's dorm room, Hannah and Barbara huddled next to each other opposite their friend, who was looking stiff as they'd ever seen her.

"Is it something we did?" Hannah asked nervously. "Are you mad that we locked Akko in the storage room?"

"We know you told us to be nicer to her," Barbara said, "but she ended up finding something she'd lost in there, so it all worked out, didn't it?"

"I... no..." Diana eyed her roommates with confusion. "You did what?"

"Um, never mind."

"You were saying?"

Diana decided it was better to let the matter drop. She had much more important things to attend to. "Back to the matter at hand. I'm sure the two of you have observed Akko's casual attitude toward physical intimacy."

Hannah scoffed. "That girl is much too forward and she doesn't even realize how uncouth it is."

Barbara chuckled. "She doesn't have any idea how weird it is that she's always clinging to her friends like a child."

Both of them seemed to be unaware that they were holding hands at the time.

"Yes, well..." Diana cleared her throat. "I would like to be in the habit of... reciprocating that affection."

It took Hannah and Barbara a moment to realize what Diana meant. "You mean, you want to hug Akko?" Hannah asked.

Diana nodded.

"Well, um, good for you," Barbara said. "But why did you ask us to meet you?"

"I was hoping I could... practice hugging with you two," Diana answered, the slightest hint of a blush dusting her cheeks.

"You can depend on us!" Hannah said enthusiastically.

"You can hug us as much as you'd like!" Barbara added.

"Thank you so much, girls," Diana said with a smile. "I simply don't know what I would do without you."

The girls rose from their seats in unison and met beside the table. Diana went to hug Hannah first. She hadn't hugged anyone in years—since her mother was alive—but she was pretty sure she remembered the basics. Diana put her arms around Hannah, who returned the gesture. She gave her a gentle squeeze and took a step back to receive feedback.

"How was my form?" Diana asked. "Did I do something wrong? You seem uncomfortable."

"What? Me? No! I'm the most comfortable I've ever been?" Hannah was, in fact, overwhelmed, but for altogether different reasons.

"Me next!" Barbara said eagerly. Diana obliged her, taking her other roommate into her arms. She let go and checked for Barbara's reaction.

"Are you sure I'm doing this right?" Diana asked. "Your reaction seems... off..."

"Me? I'm fine!" Barbara wasn't exactly fine, but it wasn't a problem. "You should go try it out on Akko."

Diana nodded and left the room with a single-minded sense of purpose.

"That was awesome, right?" Hannah asked, a dreamy look on her face.

"Totally awesome," Barbara agreed.

*******

"What's up, Diana?" Akko asked. "Why did you want to meet me alone?" She narrowed her eyes. "Are you gonna challenge me to a duel?"

Diana had arranged for the two of them to meet in the West Dormitory's laundry room, somewhere the two of them wouldn't be disturbed. As well as things had gone with Hannah and Barbara, she was still embarrassed at the mere thought of what she was about to do.

"Are you going to lecture me about something?" Akko asked anxiously. "Okay, I guess it was bad of me to use culinary magic to make their tarts taste like sardines, but they locked me in the storage room, so we're already even!"

Diana pinched the bridge of her nose. "I really am going to have to sit the three of you down for a talk someday. No, Akko, it isn't about that."

"Then what is it?"

Diana suddenly realized how ridiculous she was being. Why on earth would someone arrange a meeting for a hug? Why was she being so difficult about this? It was simply a hug, a common enough expression of affection. Stating her intention should've been easy enough, yet the words refused to come to her. 

"I suppose it would be easier to just do it." Diana said, and walked toward Akko...

And then Diana did something she hadn't done since she was a child: she tripped over her own foot.

She had a moment to mentally berate herself before she collided with Akko and they crashed to the ground. Diana clung to Akko as they fell, and she landed on top of the other girl.

"D-D-Diana! What are you doing!?"

Diana wondered why Akko sounded so flustered. Then she realized that her face was cushioned by Akko's chest.

"I was trying to hug you!" she exclaimed.

"That wasn't a hug! It was a pounce! I thought you were trying to fight me after all!"

Diana had never been so embarrassed. She buried her furiously flushing face in Akko's chest, which hardly mitigated the problem.

"Shut up!" She wanted to disappear. "I was just trying to return the sort of affection you're always so freely expressing."

"Oh." Akko didn't know why Diana had been so visibly tense over just hugging her friend. "You can hug me whenever you want, you know." She put her arms around Diana. "No need to get so nervous you end up knocking me to the floor."

"Duly noted."

"So, are you going to get your face out of my boobs any time soon?" Akko asked.

"No," came the muffled response. Akko could see that Diana's face and ears were still bright red.

"Alright. Take your time then." It's not like she had anything better to do. Being hugged(?) by a gorgeous girl like Diana was a pretty sweet deal.


	14. January 14th, "A character is afraid to talk to a certain person"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akko goes on a quest into the belly of the beast: Finnelan's office

"I don't want to do it," Akko said as she stared at the door of Professor Finnelan's office. "I don't wanna. I don't wanna. I don't wanna. I don't wanna."

She sighed. "But I have to."

Akko knocked on the door. "Come in," Finnelan said from inside her office. Ignoring every fibre of her body screaming at her to run, Akko entered the room. Finnelan was sitting in behind her desk, ramrod-straight and smiling grimly.

"Ah, Miss Kagari," Finnelan said. "I know exactly what you're here for."

"Yes, Professor Finnelan."

Finnelan retrieved a wrapped package from a drawer and placed it on top of her desk. "You came for your confiscated property."

Akko nodded hesitantly.

Finnelan slammed her hand on the table. "Your audacity truly knows no bounds. You were caught returning from outside school grounds with what I can only assume is some illicit contraband. And not twenty-four hours later you've come to my office looking for it back."

Akko flinched. The facts were what they were, and no amount of arguing was going to help her out in this situation. "It was for something important."

"Miss Kagari, you have a very lopsided set of priorities. You skipped class and broke school rules in order to get whatever is in this package. Your blatant misconduct hardly inspires my confidence in what you consider to be 'important.'"

"It's a present for Diana."

"And another thing—pardon me?"

"It's a book," Akko said quietly. "Diana said she wanted it for a long time, but nobody had a copy of it. I asked the owner of the Last Wednesday Society to look out for a copy and yesterday he got a hold of one, but he said I'd have to make sure I got there before anyone else did."

"So you skipped class and went on an unscheduled trip off campus to get it?"

"Yes." Akko's head drooped. She braced herself for the next lecture... which was taking longer and longer to come.

"Very well," Finnelan said at last. "Seeing as your indiscretion was made on behalf of one of your classmates, I'm inclined to be lenient. I will return your confiscated property. However! For breaking school rules, you're sentenced to broom repair duty for a week."

Akko could hardly believe her ears. "Yes!" She pumped her fist. "Uh, I mean, I understand what I did wrong and I humbly accept my punishment."

Finnelan shook her head as she handed over the package. _I must be going soft,_ she thought. She watched Akko's barely contained joy as she got her present for Diana back; Akko practically bowed as she rushed out of the office, eager to give her prize to her dear friend.

Finnelan caught herself smiling and was extremely grateful that nobody else was around to see her smile because of Atsuko Kagari.


End file.
